Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-01-22

IRE Santa Cruz valley, beginning be, low the sonora boundary line, extends northWard for distance of one hundred and hfty miles before it opens out into the Wide, chRmpt ign country bordering the Glla river and possessing another name, It drains an extent of country equal to sn average width of fifteen miles on each side. and is fed by perpet- ual springs and streams of minor i'm portance during its entire length. The volume of water that necessarily flows through its subterranean bed, is enor- nous. At several points the water dis appears under the shelving rock stratifi- cHtion and is lost, while the whole gravel substance with which tue valley is filled from the bedrock upwards, is saturated at all seasons of the year from the abundance of water that ex- ists beyond the quantity that sinks beneath the s,ratlfcation and creyices above alluded to. The tre- mendous quantity of water that neces- sarily discharges through this valley, and the comparatively small proportion Of its bulk that IS found above the bed rock Tn any given locality, leadt to the question. what becomes of the larger portion Of the waters of this huge riyeri Passing as 1t does, under the shelving strGtifcsticn, through natural subter- rsBean channels, it must couse its wny in the same general direction as the surface dip of the valley, owing 10 the igneous nature of the mountainous coun- try upon either side. and finds Gn outlet through the deeD sands into the Gils or Colorado rivers like n wasting treasure, into the sen. From the city of Tucson to the Gils river and extending west ward along the line of the railroad to- wards Casa Grande and Mariccps, there IS fertile plain upon which shrub and bush now grow without any artificial irrigation. and native grasses thrive lu1uriantly. The soil is capable of pro- ducIng almost any kind of fruit vine or and needs but the presence on its sur face of the water that flows from forty to sixty feet below, to transform 1t into Q garden of perpetual bloom. Iii now a dead country and has scarcely an in- viting feature to attract the attention of the husbandman. It is believed, as 8 logical conclusion based upon the disap- pearance of the water of the Santa Cruz, that bOuntiful flow of artesiGn water can be developed almost anywhere along the course we have outlined, st a moderate cost. The experiment is, perhaps, one of too great magnitude for the efforts of a single individual, but if an association would organize and secure from the government a special privilege 10 secure title 10 a large tract ofl8nd by providing n water supply necessary for artificial irrigation. We believe good results would acrae. not ouly to the enterpris- ing projectors, but 10 the government and to the territory. The project nec- essitates the subdivision Of the land into convenient tracts for farms and orch- ards, and thousands of the most con- forteble homes in the world would be created at onre. California has shown the value of such re claimed lands, ard many a bare desert tract of a few years ago IS worth five hundred dollars an acre to- day. The land we speak of in this ter ritory possesses ten times the advantages of the California lands, for the products are earlier, more sure and bring a bet Ger price in home market. We hope the attention of men of energy, enter prise and capital will be turned towards this grand opportunity that Arizona may profit greatly while they accumu- late deserved wealth themselves.